Calling all TNs

Lovelyface

Laurajane, wow! you look absolutely stunning!  I don't see the swellings in your neck, maybe because I just don't know how to enlarge the pic, as after chemo, my eyes is  not the same.  I think even with what you're going through, you are an absolute hottie!!!!!  Thanks for sharing your pic with us.

Anonymous

Some of you have probably seen this before (it's been around awhile), but if not, it is *definitely* worth watching!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OBlgSz8sSM

Always a good laugh...

Titan

Love the vid Heidi! 

LJ...yes..like Lovelyface said you are a Hottie!  I really can't see any issues with your neck either..I see what I want to see..you know what I mean?  

OMG..my DD daughter is turning into Bridezilla..the wedding is in 3 weeks...all I asked her was how many bottles of champagne for the wedding party table and she turned on me...seriously...how am I supposed to know how many bottles her friends can drink?..I'm not sure DD is the proper term for her right now...

MJB....you talk about reducing stress..I dunno how in the hell I can reduce my stress in the next 3 weeks..help me! 

Titan

And Lowrider...welcome to the tn club...you may wonder why you are here but we will love you anyway..ha ha..

Sugar77

Titan - maybe you need some of the champagne yourself to help with your stress...lol You will look back on this time with fond memories some day!

jenn3

Lowrider - so sorry you had to join the TN group, but as you can see it's a good group of women.

LJ - You look beautiful in your picture - love the hair.  I'm glad to hear that the dr changed your pain meds.  I got so much more relief once the onc switched me to long acting meds with short term for break thru. 

Titan - Good luck.........the stress before a wedding is tough from what I understand from my friends with daughters getting married.  I think I may be feeling what you're feeling next summer.

Anonymous

Bridezilla:

Titan

Seriously Heidi..that pic looks like my kid!

Jenn3..I will send you any extra champagne if I don't drink it all that night.ok? 

Titan

All this preparation and the day/night goes by so quickly..and so do the $$$ but whatever...at least Bridezilla will be happy..my Dh and I are going for a much needed beach vacation one week after the wedding..we did this one week after I was done with treatment 2 years ago..time to recoup and reflect...

I'm not complaining, really..I am so happy that I will probably (nothing is a given) be here for my daughter's wedding...

belleeast

it's been a bad day, port that was put in wed was taken out today because of infection.i had been on antibiotics for a wk as a precaution because of lumpectomty site being red and a little warm,took the last this morning so WTH.

so now what, how and when will chemo start? more questions,more waiting arrrrrrh

i am on bactrim ds for 10 days and pain pills, hopefully won't need them!

MBJ

Titan:  Sorry, I am no help at all-Me, I am just running away from it all.  I second the champagne drinking idea.  Better order an extra case for yourself, lol.  So glad you are going away after-you will need it, I am sure!

Paintingmywaythru

titan I got through my daughters wedding July 2nd and when all  was said and it it was perfect. got so many hostile stares from her and difficult answers int he weeks preceding. These kids are stressed and boy does it rub off on us. My husbadn seemed to be less picked on but it was weird and then the day was perfect.

Laura Jane you look beautiful. Hard to see what you mean but you know what you see.

Lowrider...so sorry you are back again. Switching has happened. Someone here jsut wnet for triple neg to + but they feel her test wasn't corrrect. This was after several dose dense chemos.

Belleeast..so sorry to hear about your port.

Went up to 90 % yesterday with TC. Feel so bloated and burpy and sure enough got the hiccups in the night..for a long time so I took the drug of choice for it...thorazine....love the label..for psychosis, schizphrenia and hiccups. Well they stopped but I feel like I am blownand as though my stomach has shut down. 

Anyone have anything to say on differences in radiation centers..switching and trying to figure out the best choice. Advice welcome.

Suze35

LJ - you are a beautiful woman, love the hair!  How are the SEs treating you?  I'm so glad your pain is under control.  Keeping everything crossed for you...  LE is lymphadema (sp.) - I have a mildish case of it, and it is flaring up right now, so I suppose it could be responsible for the node.  I hope so!  My PET/CT is currently set for 9/26, but I am trying to get it moved to 9/19.  They only do them on Mondays where I go.

Titan - Bridezilla will go back to DD as soon as the champagne is served, lol.  You are doing great!  Your vacation sounds lovely. 

belleeast - so sorry about the port :-(.  They might be able to do chemo in your arm - I had my first treatment before my port was placed.  I hope you can get started soon.

~~~

Trying to get my PET/CT moved up a week, just for my peace of mind.  I know I can't change anything, so I'm trying to be ZEN about the whole thing - lots of meditating these days.  We went out to dinner last night to a great Italian place, and I enjoyed my wine and pasta bolognase without too much guilt.  At the very least, I'm enjoying my 2-week chemo break!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Titan

Thanks Susan..it's good to talk to someone who has been there done that with their own Bridezilla..I realize that she is stressed...she just graduated college and now a wedding..plus she needs to get a job in her field...soon..plus tuition bills coming soon...oh yeah I feel her pain...I'm stressing out about it too...we just kinda tiptoe around here..its the safest.

Hope everyone's weekend is going ok..our county fair started today so we are going tomorrow after the Browns game...I'm ready for some Fair Food!

Belleast..I hope your infection clears up quickly..I know you are anxious to get on with your treatments...

Titan

Suze..do you do yoga also?  I still want to sign up for some classes soon..just haven't done it yet.

jazz3000

Titan - Thanks for your guiding hand in the very complex level of the abc's of BC. I guess I am  TN. You've got to admit, when they tell you, you have BC, they leave all of these little subtleties out of the mix. I assume that it's to see how far you get before your next appointment.

I read about TN daily, trying to play catch up with the idea of surgery, smiling @ all passer-bys, doing laundry, getting ready for a BBQ, grabbing paperwork, dealing with my insurance (Talk about a walk in the dark), and then trying to hold my own in the discussions of what TN is with my family. My son and daughter-in-law appear to be way ahead of me in their research which can be over powering @ times.

I'm glad you connected with me to help me identify what's going on. Surgery is this Friday. Told my surgeon it's been a whirlwind affair and asked if I got a pink bandage when they remove the breast and nodes. I've come to realize surgeons practice in front of a mirror to maintain that serious, concerned demeanor. I don't think you can trust a surgeon who doesn't smile, do you? LOL

Have a great day. Dishes - freakin' -dishes, with no time off for good behavior.

rachers

Hi. This is the first time I've posted. I wish you all the best for your surgery. I had my lumpectomy in Feb. I was very lucky to keep my breast as my tumour was originally 7.5cm. The chemo shrunk it to 2mm!  All my lymph nodes were removed. 4 of them were involved. I must say I was so scared of going into hosp for my op, but it was nowhere near as traumatic as I'd anticipated. I was treated like royalty! I had 3 rads & am now doing well physically, but struggling mentally. Now the treatment is over I feel that I can only now start to try to come to terms with what has happened. My GP has referred me for counselling which starts on my 44th birthday. On my last birthday I had CT scan to see whether the cancer had spread. It was the longest week of my life waiting to hear that there was no sign of it elsewhere. The Triple Neg aspect of it frightens me, but I try  now to live one day at a time. I'm hopeful that the counselling will help me cope better. It's wonderful to read other people's experiences & there are many positives to focus on. Sending my love to all of us going through this experience xx

bak94

rachers, I am so happy to here of your clean ct! That is great news. I worry about treatment being over, but then again I worry about it not being over because that means something else has shown up! I have 7 more weekly abraxane, then surgery then rads. I am wondering if I will be doing more chemo after surgery, I guess it depends on pathology report. Sounds like you had a great response to treatment. Did you have scans shortly before surgery? My last pet/ct said my im nodes had resolved and nothing was seen in the breast or anywhere else, including axillary nodes, where scans have not shown any activity. I just worry that the scan is not showing everything. I have a ct on the 22nd, halfway through abraxane.

Suze35, how often do you do a pet scan? I think my doctor is a bit scan crazy! I just had a pet on July 29th and he wanted to do another Sept. 22. The pet clinic suggested just a ct with contrast for now which I am comfortable with because I am sure I will need a pet when done with the abraxane and before my surgery.

Jazz, is that a little birdie for your avatar? So cute! I have a blue front amazon named Jazzy, she was given to me by someone who did not want her anymore. And why, oh why do we always have to do dishes? They never go away! Plus the non ending laundry, and I don't even have kids!

Suze35

Titan - I do a beginners yoga class once a week. I was initially not interested, pushy MIL story, lol, but I find it really useful. A good workout, but also relaxing.



Bak - I get a PET/CT roughly every 6 months, so this next one will be my 3rd in a year. I have also had an abdominal CT mid-July, 3 brain MRIs, and a neck MRI. It seems like a lot - I'm hoping that as I get used to my new aches and pains, I won't freak out and ask for scans as quickly. If my next PET is clear, we won't scan for at least 6 months unless necessary.

laurajane

Hi everyone feeling like I need to take advantage of my week off before port placement on Friday. I've decided to take a mini trip. Pain is tolerable today and I expect it to get better the next few days.

I am going to New York on Monday for just a couple of days want to meet for lunch either Tuesday or Wed.? 

Titan

Oh..LJ..would love to meet you for lunch but we are moving the son to OSU on Tuesday...how about lunch in Columbus on Tuesday afternoon at Buca di Beppo? How far is Columbus from you anyway?

Jazz!  Glad to see you on the TN thread...There are alot of pages to read here..sometimes we are a little off topic about TN but we can't talk about it all the time..but it IS still the main reason we we are are here.. 

And welcome Rachers!..awesome news on the clean scan...!

I've never had a scan...I'm too chicken..you ladies that request them amaze me..I definitely have my head in the sand..or whatever that saying is.

About being TN...I don't know..you can go on the Internet..and read the blah, blah about being hard to treat, blah, blah..but if you really read it..it is because tamoxifin, etc. can't help us...ok..whatever.

People say on here that it is really crapshoot..and now I really believe it is....

Whenever I hear people talking about the worse kind of breast cancer I know exactly what they are talking about..I say..well that would be me but I'm still breathing and I'm still here...for now...and hopefully for awhile yet...

It's kind of fun to continually amaze people..

bak94

Titan, I never had a pet /ct the first time around when I was stage 2b, just one xray and one bone scan before I started treatment, that was it and I was fine with it! Now with my more advanced stage and scan happy doctor I have had some kind of image done every 2-3 months! I kinda prefer the no scans but it is a relief if you get good news!

mccrimmon324

I'm surprised everyone doesn't get a PET/CT scan when first diagnosed. That was the very first test I went for after my diagnosis. I remember being so scared I cried the entire 6 days I had to wait for the test then results. My alergies/asthma had been seriously out of control for a couple of months prior. My husband and I were positive it had spread to the lungs. We were so happy to find out it had not spread, then back to devasted when we heard TN and did some research. Now I refuse to google BC at all. I stay on this site only.

jazz3000

Thanks Titan.  I'm very big on the idea of conversing about life and living.  And I know I'm feeling mighty special being in a 1% percentile.  Mighty special. Where's Mr. Rogers now? " You are special to me",  LOL.  Somehow I get the feeling that a Triple Negative is something like a Double Whammy only a little whammier. I guess I'll know starting next week. The imagry of losing my breast and walking lopsided flies through my mind every once in a while and I wonder if I'm going to need a lift in my shoe on that side.

Hi Racher and bak94.  thanks for sharing and caring.  Yes that's my baby bird bak - about to have it's wing clipped. The surgeon said the "team", didn't want to break both my wings at once. WHAT?

You'll have to forgive me. They say ignorance is bliss and I have to say I'm still bordering on the blissful side of ignorance and have little or no idea what my earth suit has decided to involve in.

Hi mccrimmon, What is a PET exactly? They've moved me through tests so fast I may have had one and didn't even know it. Is that the same thing as a CT  or ultrasound?

Hope all of you are hot flash free and sleep wonderfully tonight. Thanks for being here.

Kelley41

laurjane - have fun in NYC.  I was just there in June with my daughter and her girl scout troop - had a great time.  I really want to go visit during the Christmas season when everything is decorated for the Holidays.  Friends have said that it is beautiful!  I think that I will put that on my to do list...Have a good day everyone

Suze35

LJ - I might be able to swing lunch on Wednesday.  Let me talk to DH and see if I can get down there!  We can swing by Horatio and do a little retail therapy - or just window shopping .

jazz and rachers - I'm glad you found us, but sorry to have you here.  Jazz - the internet is full of scary information, and my doctor always tells me - add 5-10 years to that date, it is that old.  I like your approach to this mess . 

Scans for me are a necessary evil I think.  If I had been an earlier stage or had a better response to chemo, my doctor would definitely be in the "as needed" camp.  But we are both on the same page - the earlier any progression is caught, the easier it is to treat.  That isn't what the "stats" say, but it makes more sense to me .

tnbcRuth

LJ- love that you posted a new photo!  You look maavelous!  Catching up with everyone's progress and a welcome to new TN's. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.

Good news, I got a job!  I'm a little nervous since my brain is still a bit scrambled, but its in my line of work and the pay is good!!  I haven't worked for 1 1/2 yrs, but I am ready to get dressed and go somewhere other than the dr. office.  I have had so many difficulties over the last 4 years...I keep thinking this will probably be the time for a reoccurrence!  Someone needs to shame me into just being thankful.... hope for things ever being good again has flown far far away.  I'm just glad I can quit spending my retirement funds.  

MBJ

Laurajane:  What a great idea!  It's Fashion Week in NYC, so you must do some retail therapy!  I wish I already lived closer because NYC isn't that far away in a flight and I could come visit you where you live as you aren't far at all. 

Suze & Titan:  I see a group meeting in our future, after all I will be living so close to so many states how can I not see everyone??!!

MBJ

tnbcRuth:  Congratulations!!! You really deserve a good job and stop thinking recurrence right now.  Go and live and enjoy your life.  That goes for all of us-we can't just sit here and wiat for the other shoe to drop-it's important to live and to live well.  Hugs!!!

Titan

Maybe we could meet in Covington, KY...about a 4 hour drive for me